JOINT BASE CHARLESTON –
Oct. 24, 1964 - When ground fire destroyed a C-123 in Vietnam, 1st Lt. Valmore W. Vourque, the pilot, became the first U.S. Air Force Academy graduate to die in action.
Oct. 25, 1942 - American bombers raided Hong Kong and damaged the Kowloon Docks in the first raid on the former British colony since the Japanese occupation.
Oct. 26, 1956 - A Tactical Air Command C-124 Globemaster became the first U.S. Air Force aircraft to fly over the South Pole, when it flew a support mission for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica.
Oct. 27, 2006 - The 49th Fighter Wing flew 25 F-117 Nighthawks in formation over Holloman AFB, N.M., for the largest flyover in its history to commemorate the aircraft's 25th anniversary.
Oct. 28, 2002 - A C-141 arrived at Guantanamo Bay with the last group of Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees from Afghanistan for 2002. From January, C-141s and C-17s flew 25 missions to carry 620 detainees from Kandahar to Guantanamo during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Oct. 29, 2004 - NASA's KC-135A aerospace vehicle trainer, the "Vomit Comet," flew its final sortie. NASA used the "Comet" at Edwards AFB, Calif. to provide zero gravity training to students at the Aerospace Vehicle Test Course. The KC-135A performed its famed-roller coaster maneuver some 35,000 times.
Oct. 30, 1918 - Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker shot down his 26th and final enemy aircraft of World War I.